Coming Home
by Hexgar
Summary: Cruelty is something he has grown to expect. Cruelty is a way of existence for him. Cruelty has finally shown what little mercy it has and left him, but not before taking all it can. In the end, nothing is left, but can nothing bring Naruto a better ex


He could with stand the stares and the cruel remarks; he could even take their hatred, never blaming them for it, for they did not know what they did. He felt pain, quite a bit of it, so much so, that any normal person, or hell even some of the more hardened shinobi would have blacked out, but not him, he was too stubborn. The had already crudely crucified him to a cross of wood using multiple kunai, and the man in front of him, the crowds ringleader, had already cut off both of his legs and one of his arms. He watched in an almost dazed state as the next sword strike came removing his last limb, screaming as it fell. He wondered where his friends were, why they weren't stopping this, but he understood, they were all far to injured to help him, even if they could. Most were probably still unconscious, it had only been half a day since he returned to the leaf with Kakashi, while the rest were still heavily injured, he had healed to full health. Walking down the street in a sort of a daze, he noticed that the stares and cruel looks were even harsher than usual. He even heard the occasional curse or threat, but right now he really didn't care. Eventually when he reached his apartment, he noticed a large group out front, townspeople; they grabbed him and tied him the cross where his punishment began. He didn't put up much of a struggle, even when they blamed him for corrupting the last Uchiha, for letting him escape, for ruining all of their lives. They blamed him for a good twenty minutes till finally the crucified him, and now here he was, missing all his limbs and waiting for the sweet kiss of death to claim him and grant him relief, because even if he was destined for hell, it couldn't be any worse than this.

Kakashi and a group of ANBU were dispatched on order of the Hokage to halt a group of people who supposedly were assaulting Naruto. From the Hokage's tower they traveled into the less reputable part of Konoha where the mob could be spotted from blocks away. To Kakashi's horror, the mob had already strung Naruto up and removed his limbs, using his fastest speed he raced to the center of the group, trying to stop the final blow that would cut off Naruto's head. Realizing he wouldn't make it in time he threw a kunai at the man with the sword's head, killing him, but not before the sword slice had finished his work. As Naruto's head rolled away from his body, Kakashi heard, "thank you, sensei".

The moments following as Kakashi fell to his knees as the ANBU finally got the crowd under control and began to question people, the seal began to glow. Eventually the light glow burst into a pillar of fire, and as Naruto's body was consumed by the flame leaving only ash, the people of Konoha heard one thing that would haunt their dreams for years to come... "**Freedom!!**"

For weeks after his murder, the people were terrified of the Kyubi's vengeance, fearful it would come at any time to claim them all, but after six months it never came and the village relaxed considerably. Eventually the people of the town returned to there normal live, the people who had killed Naruto had been removed from the pikes their bodies had been left on. Tsunade started seeing people again after she had shut herself in to mourn. As part of the healing process, Shizune had suggested she take on another apprentice. As Sakura had lost both of her teammates, and seemed to be suffering as much as Tsunade had, she was a good choice. Jiraiya had left again, with Akatsuki no longer after Naruto, they now had new plans and such and Jiraiya was hell bent to discover what, as well as get as far from Konoha as he could, too many bad memories. Life went on, the people of the village eventually forgot the boy who they had deemed their personal curse, others missed him, either from the point of view of respect for a comrade, or that of pseudo-family, and even love.

A stone marker, put up in the Konoha graveyard, in the section for heroes, held the ashes, the final remains of Uzumaki Naruto. If you were to look closely you would notice the small crack in the ground, leading down to his urn, but no one ever does, as he has had no visitors since the funeral, save one or two and they tend to be too upset to notice such a thing. Eventually a year passes; his precious people are less upset and are starting to come to accept it, moving on with their lives. Through the training fields, the wind passes by Lee and his team as they train, Neji's hair blowing in the wind. It travels over a young Chuunin and his team as they watch the clouds go by, even if the girl of the group would rather be some where else, she enjoys the time she has with her teammates. As the wind travels further, it reaches the other end of the village, as a boy and his dog run through the woods, being followed by Shino as the two arrive to find an exhausted Hinata, hands bloody, but the training stump destroyed. As they praise her, causing a blush, the wind moves out of the village and deep into the forest south of the village. The wind whirls around the leg of a man dressed in courtier clothing, causing him to lift his nose and smell where the wind has been and is going. As he finishes smell the breeze he looks in a large crevice inside a giant tree, at the entrance a group of fox cubs play and the mother sits in the back, sitting on something. As a noise could be heard from the crevice, the vixen gets up and goes to her children, nodding at the man. Something moves with a groan, standing, its form covered deep in shadows hiding it. A pair of bright blue eyes open that glow with the power of something divine. The man bows, looks up and says, "Kyubi-sama"

Ok, here is the prologue, I know it's kind of short, but this is to help me get organize my thoughts on Master of the House, as well as procrastinate. I should write the next chapter of this soon as it is still fresh, and I will finish up the next chapter of Master of the House soon as well, I am having trouble with how Namaru/Naruto deals with Hinata, what happens after that is easy.


End file.
